3.1 Descriptive Adjectives

Adjetivos Descriptivos (Descriptive Adjectives)

• Adjectives are words that describe people, places, and things, adding detail and specificity to nouns.

• In Spanish, descriptive adjectives are used with the verb "ser" to point out inherent, relatively permanent characteristics such as nationality, size, color, shape, personality, and appearance. They provide essential information about what something is like.

  • The verb estar is used with adjectives to describe temporary states or conditions of a noun.

Forms and Agreement of Adjectives

• In Spanish, adjectives agree in number and gender with the nouns or pronouns they describe. This agreement is crucial for grammatical correctness.

  • Gender: Adjectives must match the gender of the noun they modify (masculine or feminine).

  • Number: Adjectives must also match the number of the noun (singular or plural).

Example:

• simpático/a = nice- Juan es simpático. (Juan is nice.)

  • Here, simpático agrees with Juan, which is masculine singular.

    • Elena es simpática. (Elena is nice.)

  • Here, simpática agrees with Elena, which is feminine singular.

    • Ellos son simpáticos. (They are nice.)

  • Here, simpáticos agrees with Ellos, which is masculine plural.

    • Ellas son simpáticas. (They are nice.)

  • Here, simpáticas agrees with Ellas, which is feminine plural.

Adjectives Ending in -o

• Adjectives that end in -o have four different forms to match the gender and number of the nouns they describe. This is the most common type of adjective in Spanish.

• Feminine singular: Change the -o to -a.

  • Example: alto (tall, masculine) becomes alta (tall, feminine).

• Plural: Add -s to the singular forms.

  • Example: alto (tall, masculine singular) becomes altos (tall, masculine plural).

Examples:

• Masculine singular: el muchacho alto (the tall boy)

  • Here, alto agrees with el muchacho which is masculine singular.

• Masculine plural: los muchachos altos (the tall boys)

  • Here, altos agrees with los muchachos which is masculine plural.

• Feminine singular: la muchacha alta (the tall girl)

  • Here, alta agrees with la muchacha which is feminine singular.

• Feminine plural: las muchachas altas (the tall girls)

  • Here, altas agrees with las muchachas which is feminine plural.

Adjectives Ending in -e or a Consonant

• Adjectives that end in -e or a consonant have the same form for both masculine and feminine genders. They only change to indicate plurality.

Examples:

• el chico inteligente (the intelligent boy) / la chica inteligente (the intelligent girl)

  • inteligente remains the same whether describing a boy (masculine) or a girl (feminine).

• los chicos inteligentes (the intelligent boys) / las chicas inteligentes (the intelligent girls)

  • An -s is added to inteligente to make it plural, but the gender form remains consistent.

• el examen difícil (the difficult exam) / la clase difícil (the difficult class)

  • difícil remains the same whether describing a masculine noun (examen) or a feminine noun (clase).

• los exámenes difíciles (the difficult exams) / las clases difíciles (the difficult classes)

  • An -es is added to difícil to make it plural, consistent across genders.

Adjectives Ending in -or

• Adjectives that end in -or are variable in both gender and number, similar to those ending in -o.

Examples:

• el hombre trabajador (the hard-working man) / la mujer trabajadora (the hard-working woman)

  • trabajador changes to trabajadora to match the gender of the noun.

• los hombres trabajadores (the hard-working men) / las mujeres trabajadoras (the hard-working women)

  • trabajadores and trabajadoras change to match both the gender and number of the nouns.

Common Adjectives

• alto/a: tall

• antipático/a: unpleasant

• bajo/a: short (in height)

• bonito/a: pretty

• bueno/a: good

• delgado/a: thin

• difícil: difficult

• fácil: easy

• feo/a: ugly

• gordo/a: fat

• grande: big

• guapo/a: good-looking

• importante: important

• inteligente: intelligent

• interesante: interesting

• joven: young

• malo/a: bad

• mismo/a: same

• moreno/a: dark skinned

• mucho/a: much; many; a lot of

• pequeño/a: small

• pelirrojo/a: red-haired

• rubio/a: blond(e)

• simpático/a: nice; likeable

• tonto/a: foolish

• trabajador/a: hard-working

• viejo/a: old

Adjectives of Nationality

• Adjectives of nationality are formed like other descriptive adjectives, describing a person's origin or country.

• Those that end in -o change to -a when forming the feminine (e.g., mexicano → mexicana).

  • Example: El chico es mexicano. / La chica es mexicana.

• The plural is formed by adding an -s to the masculine or feminine form (e.g., cubana → cubanas).

  • Example: Ellas son cubanas.

Adjectives of Nationality Ending in -e

• Adjectives of nationality that end in -e have only two forms: singular and plural.

  • This simplifies agreement, as the same form is used for both masculine and feminine genders.

  • Example: El es canadiense. / Ella es canadiense.

• To form the plural, add -s (e.g., canadiense → canadienses, estadounidense → estadounidenses).

  • Example: Ellos son canadienses. / Ellas son canadienses.

Nacionalidades (Nationalities)

• alemán, alemana: German

• argentino/a: Argentine

• canadiense: Canadian

• chino/a: Chinese

• costarricense: Costa Rican

• cubano/a: Cuban

• ecuatoriano/a: Ecuadorian

• español/a: Spanish

• estadounidense: from the U.S.

• francés, francesa: French

• inglés, inglesa: English

• italiano/a: Italian

• japonés, japonesa: Japanese

• mexicano/a: Mexican

• norteamericano/a: (North) American

• puertorriqueño/a: Puerto Rican

• ruso/a: Russian

Hair/Cabello

• castaño/castaña: brown/brunette

• pelirrojo/pelirroja: red-haired

• rubio/rubia: blond(e)

Opposites/Opuestos

• pequeño /pequeña vs grande (small vs big)

• alto vs bajo (tall vs short)

• joven vs viejo/viaja (young vs old)

• bueno vs malo (good vs bad)

• feo vs guapo (ugly vs